As it is officially 2020, resolutions are being drafted, optimism is at its peak, and offices are being filled with employees who may be overly exhausted from holiday festivities. While it may be an oddly chaotic time for many, this is also a time to set goals for the year. Whether that is personally or professionally, there is no better time than now. As you are thinking about what you want to achieve in this new decade, I highly encourage you to step out of the box and think of resolutions or goals that you may not have considered before today.
One of these goals can be how to better improve equity in your professional space. Whether you are employed by a local government, a utility, a university, a nonprofit, or you are a student exploring the Energy Industry, we can all benefit from choosing to embed equity into professional practices.
The California Research Bureau conducted a response for a RFI entitled: “How have jurisdictions worked to embed equity?” for the Strategic Growth Council “to conduct a literature review on racial equity and organizational change in the context of the racial equity capacity building initiative.” This literature review has an overwhelmingly high number of ways that you can effectively increase equity (racial gender, economic, income, etc.) in your workplace. However, there are a few that I found high value in while regarding through the entirety of the RFI.
Learn by Doing:
USDN (Urban Sustainability Directors Network)
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Recruitment, Hiring and Retention
“The work of sustainability becomes relevant to more people when the perspectives of people of color and low-income communities are represented within the organization and individuals are situated to make decisions that are equitable.” The fact sheet that is provided by the USDN addresses how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity can be executed through the various stages (recruitment, hiring, and retention). We need to be cautious that inclusion doesn’t start when someone is hired, it should be a constant reminder beforehand. When recruiting for a position, be aware of how you are marketing or conducting outreach for the specific position. USDN suggests that using phrases like: “Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds” or “ability to flex communication style to multiple cultural environments” in your application criteria will be extremely beneficial and will encourage a diverse pool of applicants.
City of Portland: Office of Equity and Human Rights (OEHR)
The City of Portland took a simple approach to address the racial equity issues that existed within their own governmental structure. The OEHR presented the concepts that had internally created to their City Council and unanimously adopted the goals. THE OEHR Director points out a very important fact, ““We want to institutionalize the concept of equity, in the use of an equity lens, in the use of equity tools. Having City Council bless these goals, does just that. It allows them to exist no matter who’s sitting in any particular seat.” Institutionalizing goals and strategies that tackles the issues that are often swept under the rug or not addressed accurately. Congrats to the City of Portland for their fantastic work!
County of Marin: Racial Equity Action
Bringing this issue, a little closer to home for us Californians, is the work that was established in Marin County in early 2018. The County’s Board of Supervisors hosted a community event that invited residents, employees, and stakeholders to come and give their suggestions and feedback as to how Marin County can improve their efforts in promoting equity. Beyond this, the County emphasized diversity and inclusion in their county wide 5-year business plan and established a “Racial Equity Action Plan.” While these two items were monumental legislatively, the county also enacted a training program for every county employee and are working through an additional program centered around diversity on hiring boards. As you can see, there are various approaches that one can take when it comes to addressing equity in the workforce and Marin County is achieving excellence in doing so.
Moving Forward:
The purpose of this information is to open the conversation to employers, local governments, and other organizations to understand that there is a need for programs like the ones mentioned above. We need to follow suit of our peers that are contributing to the solution of racial equity in the workforce, specifically in the energy industry. Please take a look at breakdown of ways other people like you have been making strides for a positive change and are embedding equity into their practice.